BREAKING: White House expresses support for Pelosi after she drops two key Republicans from her Jan 6 committee

A reporter asked White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, in a press gaggle aboard Air Force One, about the White House statement that was released Wednesday afternoon in support of Pelosi.

"The White House statement that was released just before we took off, among the things that were listed in the statement, they're confident in Speaker Pelosi's ability to proceed with an investigation that is full, investigative, and transparent. The word bipartisan was not included in there, and I'm wondering," the reporter asked, "is the White House disappointed that Speaker Pelosi's investigation as it will proceed will be technically bipartisan but not truly bipartisan?"

"First," Psaki said, "we stated at the time that we were disappointed that there wasn't full bipartisan support for a select committee when there was an opportunity to vote for that." This in reference to the fact that after the House passed a bill to create a "9/11 style commission" to address the afternoon riot at the Capitol on January 6, the Senate did not take up the charge, and Republican lawmakers largely rejected the proposition.

"We also have long stated our support for Speaker Pelosi and getting to the bottom of what happened on January 6, a dark day in our democracy, and we support her efforts in moving forward on that initiative," Psaki said.

In a follow-up, a reporter asked "Are you concerned that no matter what product comes from Speaker Pelosi's investigation, or Leader McCarthy's separate investigation, that no matter what comes of it, the result is always going to be perceived as partisan based on what happened today?"

"I think many Americans across the country," Psaki replied, "regardless of their political affiliation, look at the events of January 6 as a dark day in our democracy. The President strongly supports taking steps to get to the bottom of what happened so he can prevent it from happening in the future."

In a surprise move on Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected two of Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's GOP picks to serve on her January 6 "select committee." The two lawmakers who Pelosi refuses to seat on the committee are Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana.

In response, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who made the picks, has pulled all GOP members from Pelosi's committee. The rules of the committee's formation gave Pelosi veto power over McCarthy's selections.

Both of these congressman had voted against certifying the electoral college votes for Joe Biden on January 6, something that many Democrat legislators did in 2016 when they refused to vote to certify Donald Trump as president.

Banks responded to Pelosi's veto, saying "I'm a sitting member of Congress and served my country in Afghanistan and the Speaker knows how hard I will fight for my country."

McCarthy named the lawmakers on Monday, having agreed to work with Pelosi on the Democrat-led "select" committee despite the bill to form a January 6 commission having failed to pass.